Done Running
by LeBeau88
Summary: An alternate take on the romance of Gambit and Rogue
1. Chapter 1

**1**

The young girl ran down the road, hood pulled up around her face so she would not be recognised. Unfortunately it was too late; the sentinels had already recognised her and were chasing her down the street. Letting her hood drop, a streak of white hair appeared, contrasting with the rest of her brown hair, tied back in a ponytail, flapping behind her as she ran.

Rogue was slowly running out of breath, and knew it would be a matter of time before the sentinels caught her. Her powers of absorption were no good against the sentinels, and so she was forced to run. Glancing behind her to see how close the anti-mutant robots were, she failed to notice the edge of the pavement, and tripped, landing hard with a grunt. Giving up, she rolled on to her back, and saw the sentinel standing over her, its eyes glowing as it prepared to deliver the death blow. Suddenly, something flew over her and hit the sentinel, exploding and sending it stumbling slightly. She turned to see the silhouette of a man in a trench coat, with glowing red eyes. She also noticed a deck of cards in one hand, whilst the other held a bo-staff. He bent the deck of cards in his hand and they immediately started to glow, and, letting go of the cards one by one, they flew into the sentinel's leg, separating it from its body. The sentinel toppled backwards and fell to the floor, making the whole ground shake. Rogue watched as her mysterious saviour leapt over her, running up the sentinel's body until he reached its head. Plunging his bo-staff through one of its glowing eyes (similar to his, Rogue thought) she watched it glow as the sentinels head also began to glow, before exploding. Rogue sat up, fearing her rescuer had been caught in the blast, only to see him standing in front of her, hand outstretched to help her.

'You all righ' petite?' he asked, helping her to her feet.

'Ah'm fine. Thank you,' she responded looking him in the face. She found his eyes enchanting, and she found him very handsome.

'Name's Remy LeBeau, chere,' he said with a smile. 'Who might you be?'

'Mah name's Rogue,' she said, blushing slightly.

'Dat's an odd name,' said Remy, as he looked over at the fallen sentinel.

'It's a code name really,' Rogue explained. 'I don' really like to use mah real name.'

'Everybody calls me Gambit,' he said. 'You ain't de only one wit a code name.'

He began to look her over, and she felt sure he had rescued her in the chance that she would come back to his place for some 'fun', and so was shocked when he suddenly spoke up.

'You got quite a nasty cut, dere, petite. Come on back to my place o' residence. We got people who can fix dat in no time.' He grabbed her gloved hand and pulled her along with him. She had to struggle to keep up with him, as he walked quickly, and she had to run every few steps to keep up with him.

'Where're we goin'?' Rogue asked, still desperately trying to keep up with Gambit.

'I got some friends, dey like us. Mutants. It's one of de best places for us'.

Within five minutes, they had reached the gates of a mansion. Cameras followed Gambit and Rogue as they walked up to the gate. Gambit looked directly at the camera, and the gates opened.

'Welcome, chere,' he said with a slight bow, mimicking a waiter in an upper class restaurant. 'to de mansion of Professor Charles Xavier.'


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

It had been two weeks since Rogue had been rescued by Remy, and yet she had seen very little of him since he had taken her to Xavier's office and left. She had occasionally seen him rushing around the mansion, normally entering one of the rooms on either side of the corridor. Xavier had told her that she would be given a week or two to get to know the place, and then her lessons would begin.

During the following week, she had been given a room, and been introduced to her new roommate. Her roommate was called Kitty Pryde, and she seemed to be a bit out of it sometimes. Rogue learned that Kitty had been brought to the mansion after her parents had been killed. It turns out that she too had been rescued by Remy, and formed quite a close bond with him.

'That's weird,' Rogue said. 'Since he rescued me, Ah ain't seen him around much.'

'Well, that's Gambit for you. He's quite mysterious. I found out he's been here almost two years, and many of the other senior members know little more about him than his name.'

'Wow,' Rogue said, and she immediately realised she wanted to find out more about him.

Over the week, she and Kitty became good friends, and she made many more over the next week. Some of the guys at the mansion seemed to find her attractive, and many had tried to ask her out, but she had rejected their offers, fearing that she could hurt someone if she got involved. Her powers of absorption were uncontrollable, and she spent most of the time wearing long sleeved tops, gloves and trousers. Occasionally she wore skirts, but was always sure to where tights underneath to prevent any accidental contact. Unfortunately, she used to overheat in these clothes, especially on hot days when everyone else was wearing shorts and t-shirts, or swimming costumes. She always went swimming in the evening, just to make sure that no-one else was there. One night, as she turned the corner to the pool, she heard a splash and immediately backed round the corner, but she peeked round to see who else would be swimming at this time of the day. She saw that is was one of the male students, and when he stopped at the edge of the pool, she saw a flash of glowing red eyes.

_Oh mah God, _she thought. _It's him. _She watched as he pulled himself out of the pool, water glistening off his toned body. He grabbed a nearby towel and walked into the mansion. As soon as she was sure he was gone, she walked to the pool and started to swim lengths.

'Ain't it a little late to swimming?' She gasped as she heard the voice behind her. She turned and saw Remy standing over her, still wearing his swimming shorts, but he had now donned a robe.

'What about yourself? Why were you swimming this late in th' evenin'?' She responded, hoping to catch him off guard.

'I like to swim when all de other students have gone for their meals, gives me time to t'ink,' He said with that charming smile of his, before turning away and walking back to the mansion, she stared after him until he disappeared through the door before resuming her lengths. She didn't stay too long, as she had a class early in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

'Damn it,' Rogue gasped as she ran down the corridor. Her alarm clock had failed to wake her and now she was late for her first lesson. She checked her timetable, and saw she had a combat class. She finally reached the door to what was known as the danger room (she really didn't want to know why it was called that, but she was about to find out), and opened it carefully.

'Come on in, chere, de lessons just started so you haven't missed much.' Rogue was shocked to see that her teacher was Remy LeBeau. He smiled briefly at her then turned back to the class.

'Now den, you may be wonderin' why y'all have to take combat classes. Well, when you t'ink about how you were all found, den you'll realise dat combat classes are essential for survival in de real world. Now, since dis be de first lesson for most of you, I'll take it easy on ya, but be warned, after dis lesson dey will get tougher.'

Many of the students looked nervously from side to side. Many of them weren't ready for combat, Remy thought, but two stood out. One was the young girl he had rescued two weeks ago; he remembered her name to be Rogue. The other one was another young girl, about Rogue's age. She had white hair, chocolate skin, and her eyes seemed to lack pupils most of the time. He knew she had control of the weather and could provide a good challenge.

'Alright den,' Gambit said, producing his bo-staff from his jacket pocket and extending it. 'I t'ink de first student to have a go at dis should be Rogue'. Rogue stumbled back at the mention of her name, but he felt that she could cope with what he was going to put her through. 'De rest of you wait on de sidelines. Activate trainin' program 3-7 delta'. The metal room melted away and was replaced by what looked like an old roman amphitheatre.

'Now don't worry chere. You can cope wit dis'. Suddenly a card appeared in his hand and started glowing. He threw it at Rogue and she dodged quickly, losing sight of him. She looked around and he was suddenly standing behind her. 'Keep an eye on your surroundings,' he said, swinging his bo-staff down. Rogue rolled away and kicked at his leg, knocking him off balance. He quickly launched himself into a back-flip, landing on his feet, just in time to see Rogue's fist heading for his face. He grabbed her wrist, spun round so they were back to back, and planted an elbow firmly into her back. Rogue cried out, and stumbled forward. She turned to see that Remy had not moved and was laughing slightly.

'Don't over extend you're reach, chere. It throws you off balance, and makes it easy for your opponent to strike back. Try to keep you're attacks focused and den dey won't be able t'find an opening. Alrighty, dat's enough. Next we'll have,' he looked as his list. 'Ororo Munroe'.

As Rogue walked towards the edge of the room, clutching her bruised back, she watched as the Munroe girl passed. Ororo walked with an air of confidence, as if she knew what she was doing. Rogue felt that this was just a front, and wanted to see what the girl was really like. She watched as she walked into the middle of the room, stared at Gambit, and the both took up fighting stances.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

It had been a month since Rogue's first danger room session, and she was one of the top in her class. The only one above her was Ororo Munroe, who had gained the nickname Storm due to her abilities. Rogue also noticed that Storm seemed to be always seemed to be talking to Remy about something. She admitted to herself, she was a little bit jealous. She wanted to know what the two of them talked about, and thought perhaps Kitty knew.

'I hear them talking in passing. It seems they were both thieves once, and both lived on the streets, so they got a lot in common. Why the interest, Rogue? You a little jealous of the pair of them'.

'Absolutely not,' Rogue said, but she was suddenly aware that she was blushing. 'All right, maybe ah am a little'.

'Do you have a crush on Gambit?'

'Well, I, uh…' Rogue stammered, unsure of what to say.

'It's all right to admit it, Rogue. He is one of the cutest teachers in the institute.'

'Yeah, ah know he is. But ah never get a chance to talk to him. He's always talking to Storm.'

'Ah, don't worry Rogue. You'll get your turn.'

Kitty had been right.

'Roguey,' she heard him call.

She almost jumped when she heard him call her that. It seemed like, although he barely knew her, he had a pet-name for her.

'Yah', she said, turning around. 'Can ah help you?'

'Actually, petite, I wanna talk to you about your performance in the danger room. You're good, dere's no doubt about it, but Storm is doing much better. She has an advantage over you. Now, I wanna help you, chere, so I want you to come to de danger room tonight at eight. We'll have a l'il one-on-one session. Try t'improve your skills.'

'O-Ok den,' she said. She was nervous, a one-on-one session with one of the cutest teachers at the Xavier institute. 'See you later.'

Gambit smiled at her, and walked off. Rogue stood frozen for a few seconds, then ran to tell kitty. Kitty smiled her usual 'I told you so' smile and threw her pillow at Rogue. Rogue laughed and threw it back at Kitty, who phased right through it.

'Hey, that's not fair, usin' your powers. How can ah possibly win?'

'You have to be clever to catch me Rogue. Ooh, I gotta go, I've got a class with Emma Frost, and she hates me enough all ready without me being late for her class. Again.' And with that, Kitty ran. Fast. Rogue fell back onto her bed, closed her eyes, and dreamed. She dreamt that Gambit had pinned her to the floor, his face centimetres from hers. She could feel his breath on her face, and his face drew slowly closer and closer to hers, his lips brushing against hers. Rogue suddenly sat up, and looked at her clock. It was ten to eight, she had to hurry otherwise she was going to be late for her session.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

Rogue smiled to herself as she left the danger room. She had enjoyed spending some one-on-one time with Gambit and they had arranged another session for next week. She felt she had improved slightly, but was absolutely shattered. They had been training for two hours. They'd lost track of time, and she was eager to have a shower and get to bed.

As Rogue stepped into the shower and turned the water on, she closed her eyes. As she felt the water wash over her body, her mind drifted off. She heard the door open, and turned to see Gambit standing in front of her. Her eyes roamed over his body as he walked towards her. He took her in his arms, and pressed her up against the shower wall, his lips pressing against hers. She gasped into his mouth as his hands moved slowly down her body. His face drew away from hers and he smiled at her, leaned in to kiss her again, when she heard her room mate calling her.

'Rogue. Rogue. You've been in the shower for like a half hour. What're you doing in there?'

Rogue was suddenly pulled out of her trance. _Damn it all Pryde _she thought. _You just ruined one of the best daydreams ah ever had. _Out loud she replied 'I'll be out in a minute.' She shut off the water, and grabbed a nearby towel, wrapping it around herself. She stepped out of the shower and walked into her room, where Kitty was on her bed, giggling slightly.

'What're you laughin' at gal?' Rogue asked, puzzled by her friends behaviour.

'I know what you were doing in the shower. You were thinking about Gambit.'

'And what if Ah was? Is it any of your business?'

'Sorry Rogue, I was just trying to be friendly.' Kitty sounded hurt.

'Ah know. I'm sorry gal. I'm just a bit over-sensitive at times.'

'Don't worry about it. Now let's get some sleep. Night,' Kitty said shutting off her bedside light.

'Yeah, night,' Rogue replied, lying down on the bed, her eyes slowly closing as she fell into a deep sleep, thoughts of Gambit running through her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

_Dis ain't what I signed up for _Gambit thought, standing in the city dump. Professor Xavier had asked him to meet a contact who had specifically asked for one of the senior x-men to meet him there, and so there he was, right on time, whilst the contact was late. He had a suspicion that something was wrong, and his suspicions were confirmed when a grenade hit the ground and rolled towards him.

'Merde.' He jumped away just as it exploded and landed in amongst a group of people, all pointing a gun at him. 'Let me guess. Y'all de ones dat requested a senior x-man. Well unlucky for you, mes amis, you got me.' Gambit extended his bo-staff and swung it around in a circle, knocking everyone off their feet. Leaping behind a pile of garbage, he drew a card out of his pocket and charged it. He threw it over the garbage, and heard cries followed by an explosion. He smiled to himself and ran for more cover.

* * *

'Hey Storm,' Rogue called out. 

'Yes Rogue, what is it?'

'Do you know why Gambit wasn't taking the class today? Professor Logan didn't really explain.'

'I heard he had been sent on an errand. The professor asked him to go and meet someone.'

'How do you know this?' Rogue asked.

'I was waiting to see the professor and I overheard them talking.'

'Oh, ok. Thanks,' Rogue smiled and started to walk away.

'Hey, Rogue, wait.' Rogue turned towards Storm. 'Would you mind doing a bit of one-on-one training with me? It's just that I need to practice against someone more my age, and you're the only one who's equal to my skill.' Rogue smiled.

'Sure, why not?'

* * *

'Split up and find him. Creed'll be mad if we don't bring back his head.' 

Gambit smiled as he heard the order. _Dey almost making dis too easy _he thought. He was crouched behind a dumpster, glancing round the side, checking for any approaching soldiers. _I wonder who dey are? _Suddenly he heard a crunching noise, and glanced slightly around the corner to see one of the soldiers coming towards him. He turned back quickly, pressing his back against the side of the dumpster, preparing for his attack. As soon as the gun barrel came into his field of vision, he grabbed it and stood up, facing the soldier.

'Dis just ain't your day is it, mon ami,' he said, charging the gun. He leapt back just as the gun exploded. He had not killed the man, but had blinded him. _One down, 5 t'go. _

* * *

Rogue ducked behind a rock in the danger room, just avoiding a bolt of lightning that struck the ground where she had been standing only moments ago. _Damn this gal is good. _Rogue had never faced anyone this good in nine years, and she thought that by the time she fought someone like this again, she be able to win easily. She had 21 years of experience, and had absorbed countless people's personalities, so she thought she'd know how to counter whatever was thrown at her. However, Storm's attacks were as unpredictable as her name suggested. If she wasn't hurling lightning bolts at her, then she was getting rid of potential cover by calling up gale force winds. _There's gotta be a way to beat her_

* * *

Rushing to their fallen comrades aid, the soldiers found him lying on the floor, clutching his eyes. 

'What happened?' one of them asked.

'The son of a bitch blew up my gun and blinded me.'

'OK, this guy's better than we thought. Go in teams of two. Find him.'

'I can save you the trouble, I'm right here.' They all turned to see Gambit standing on top of the dumpster, smiling.

'Get him!' The leader called, and 5 guns were immediately trained on Remy. He opened his hand, and dropped thousands of tiny ball bearings. The men screamed as the charged ball bearings landed on them, at their feet, down the barrels of their guns, causing them to drop them. Gambit leapt off the dumpster, his bo-staff in hand, swinging it at the nearest soldier. Knocking the man down, he immediately spun and took down the next one with a quick jab of his staff into the guy's stomach. Another came charging at him, and he was quickly despatched by a kick to the face. The final two soldiers stared at Gambit, before turning and running. Gambit laughed.

'Dat was too easy. Dey can't have been de best this 'Creed' fella has to offer.'

'Actually runt, they were my best, but I didn't expect them to beat you, just waste your precious cards.' Gambit turned at the voice, and decided that this guy was the one who asked for him.

* * *

Rogue kept running, avoiding lightning bolts, trying to ignore the small chunks of rock that were flying all around her. 

'Come on Rogue, stop running and face me,' Storm yelled. _I would ya crazy gal, if I could be certain I wouldn't get fried by one of your lightning bolts_

'If you don't come to me, I'm coming for you.'

'Yeah you do that. Come on!' Rogue challenged. She stood up from behind the rock and was immediately struck straight in the chest by a bolt of lightning, which sent her flying back against the wall. Rogue screamed in pain, and crumpled to the floor. As she started to black out, she saw Storm running towards her, crying for help. Then everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

'So, how do you want to die? Whole, or in pieces?'

'Personally, mon ami, I'd prefer to remain alive, but we know you don't want dat, so let's go,' Gambit said, holding his bo-staff in front of him, keeping this new threat at a distance.

'Don't think your little stick and cards are gonna stop me, runt. I've faced worse. Much worse.'

'Like me, bub?' a voice said from behind.

'Wolverine! When did you get here?' Gambit asked, puzzled by his team mates sudden appearance.

'Right after I took your class, Gumbo. Chuck said he sensed trouble around here, so he sent me. And looks like he was right. I didn't think you'd have any trouble dealing with someone like this,' Wolverine said, popping his claws and landing behind Gambit's attacker. Wolverine addressed him next. 'Honestly Sabertooth, you do like picking fights with anyone who crosses your path. Come on, I'm your enemy, try beating me.'

'Fine,' Sabertooth snarled back. 'I'll take both of you.' He lunged at Gambit who had already charged one of his cards and thrown it, hitting Sabertooth square in the chest, sending him flying back towards Wolverine. 'Get out of here, Cajun. This is my fight. Tell Chuck everything that's happened.'

'Dat's easier said than done, mon ami,' Gambit replied, another card in his hand, glowing with the effects of his powers.

* * *

Rogue sat up in the medical ward bed. She immediately gasped with pain, and she was sure she had several broken ribs. She flopped back down on the bed, and took in her surroundings.

The medical facilities of the mansion were state of the art. The X-men were prepared for every possible injury that could happen to a human being. The resident doctor, Henry McCoy, also known as Beast, was an expert in the field of medicine, and was able to have those who suffered even serious injuries up on their feet within a few days. She looked to the side, and saw Storm sitting beside her bed.

'Hey, how're you doing,' she asked.

'I've been better,' Rogue replied.

'Listen, I'm really sorry about what I did. I wasn't expecting you to suddenly appear from behind the rock, I thought you'd go to the side.'

'It's all right, Ah guess it's my fault as well. Ah just acted without thinking.'

'Well, let's just say we're both to blame,' Storm said, and the two girls laughed. 'Tell you what, when you get out of here, why don't go into the town. Make a day of it. It'll be good to get to know each other.'

'Yeah, alright. Let's do that,' Rogue replied, smiling and hoping she wouldn't be in the medical ward for much longer.

* * *

Gambit ducked behind a dumpster as bullets hit the ground close to his feet. Grabbing a handful of garbage, he threw it in the mercenaries' general direction. Hearing cries, he knew he had almost hit his targets. He knew they wouldn't be startled for long, and ran to the next dumpster. Turning back to look the way he had run from, he saw Wolverine hanging onto Sabertooth, plunging his claws into the villains back.

Gambit didn't have much time to register who was really winning their fight as bullets whizzed close to his head. He turned to run again, and saw the exit to the junkyard. He increased his speed, but just before he reached the exit, a bullet struck him in the shoulder, spinning him around, and another bullet hit him square in the chest, and as he fell he saw the mercenaries closing in.

* * *

Rogue grimaced as she swallowed another spoonful of the soup she had been given. _Ah would've hoped that the food in the med bay would've been better than this _she thought. The soup she had been given was a greeny grey colour, and she wasn't entirely sure what the flavour of the soup was, but she diligently ate the soup, not wanting to upset whoever had cooked it. Her chest still hurt badly, despite the recent dose of pain killers she had been given.

Both Kitty and Storm had both been to visit her on numerous occasions, despite her only being in the med ward for a few hours. Not that Rogue was complaining, it was nice to know that people cared for her. On Storm's last visit, Rogue had enquired as to whether Gambit had returned.

'No, not yet. But don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine,' Storm had said with an air of confidence, as if she had seen the future and knew he'd be fine. Rogue smiled at Storm.

'Ah know it must sound like ah'm, well, obsessed with him, but in truth he's one of the nicest teacher's in the institute.'

'You like him, don't you?' Storm enquired. 'And not just as a friend.'

'Am ah that obvious?' Rogue asked, aware that she was blushing.

'No,' Storm smiled back. 'I just know these things.'

Rogue laughed at this, and Storm had laughed as well.

Rogue continued to absent-mindedly consume the soup, consistently wondering whether Gambit would be back anytime soon. She finally finished, and lay back on the pillow, gazing at the ceiling, before slowly drifting off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Remy sat up quickly, taking in his surroundings. He was in some sort of holding cell, and it was pitch black. He grunted as he stood up, his hand reaching for the bullet hole in his chest.

'How the hell'd ya survive that Gumbo?' He heard Wolverine's voice coming from somewhere nearby, but not in the same holding cell.

'De body armour de Prof gave t'me. It'll stop most tings. But dat was a high calibre gun. If it'd been any more powerful, dis armour woulda been no good.' Gambit replied, and then he was suddenly curious. 'How de hell did dey get you?'

'Those bastard soldiers Sabertooth had with him. There guns took me down long enough for them to get me into this place.'

'So why don't you pop dem knives of yours and escape?' Gambit asked.

'I tried it, they've put adamantium restraints over my hands, so I can't cut through them. And don't bother trying to use your powers either, coz it won't work.'

Gambit was suddenly aware of a tightness around his neck, and felt a collar.

'It's one of those power suppressant collars,' Wolverine said. 'Anti-mutant groups have started to use 'em. They're a real pain the ass.'

'So what're we supposed to do? Just sit here and wait for dem to come back and kill us in de most horrible way possible.'

'That's one option, yes, if you intend to sit there and complain all day. Come on Cajun, I thought you could pick locks.'

Gambit nodded slightly, and reached into one of his pouches. He smiled as he felt his fingers close around his lock pick. They hadn't taken it off him. They probably hadn't even searched him. Heading for the door to his cell, he slowly worked the lock until he heard something click, and the door swung open.

'You can take the man out of the thief…'he heard Wolverine mutter. Smiling to himself, he went over the Wolverine's cell and picked the lock.

'Thanks Cajun. Think you can get rid of these things?' Wolverine asked, holding up his covered hands.

'Give me a minute,' Gambit replied, and slowly got to work on the lock holding the restraints. This was a more difficult lock to pick than he was used to, but after a few minutes, he heard a click and the restraints fell away.

'Much appreciated,' Wolverine said, before moving to the door at the back of the room.

'Um, Wolverine, any chance you could slice dis damn collar off me?' Gambit asked.

'Sorry bub,' Wolverine replied. 'But those things are rigged to blow if they're removed with anything other than the key used on it. Even your lock picks would set it off. You're stuck with it for a while, at least until we can get back to the mansion. Now help me get this door open.'

Gambit walked to the back of the room and pushed with Wolverine. The doors swung open, and the pair found themselves watching the motorway speed past them.

'Great,' Wolverine grumbled under his breath. 'This is gonna make things a lot harder.'


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Rogue and Storm strolled down the High Street of Westchester, each of them carrying more shopping bags than either of them could really handle. They didn't care, they had just wanted to get out of the mansion, away from the x-men, away from their constant training for a couple of hours. They finally sat down outside one of the many cafes and ordered two ice teas. It was a hot day, and neither of them could stand to walk around anymore. They sat quietly for a while, sipping their drinks, when Rogue suddenly piped up.

'Ah'm worried about Gambit. Ah'm sure he should've been back by now.'

'Listen, Rogue,' Storm said. 'Gambit is one of the staff at the institute. He can handle most situations thrown at him, and I heard that Wolverine went looking for him. Those two are an almost unstoppable team.' She smiled to herself and looked at Rogue. 'When they're not arguing.'

' "Let's take de direct approach" he says. "We can take 'em" he says. Den he realises dat widout his claws he can't do much against an army,' Gambit moaned, his hands chained above his head. Wolverine was in the same state as him. He snarled across at Gambit.

'Shut yer mouth, Gumbo. I thought we had chance. I thought your fancy martial arts would've helped us, but no, you got taken down by the first round of tranq darts.'

'Even I'm skilled enough to dodge dat many darts. And what about you? You're healing factor did bugger all against all of dem tasers, didn't it?'

Wolverine just growled across at Gambit when the door to their cell was flung open, and a small army of troops came in, unchained their hands and dragged them into a large, well-lit room. A large chair was stood at the back of the room, and a shadowed form was sitting on it. Gambit and Wolverine were dragged and pushed towards him, before being pushed down onto their knees in front of him.

'Hello Logan,' a voice growled from the still dimly lit chair, but Wolverine didn't need to see the face to know who the voice belonged to.

'Sabertooth.' Wolverine snarled and lunged forward, but was stopped in his tracks by a quick jab to the ribs from what he seemed to be a cattle prod. _A souped up cattle prod _thought Gambit as he watched Wolverine fall to the floor, howling in pain.

'He'll heal,' Sabertooth turned to Gambit. 'But you, you don't have the luxury of that power, do ya?'

'Well, M'sieu,' Gambit responded. 'I don't really tink dat be much of a problem, seein' as, by my reckoning, you need us alive otherwise you woulda killed us both back at de dump.'

'You're right there Cajun. But I only need one of you alive. And since Wolverine can't really be killed before healing up, I guess it's gonna hafta be you.'

'I know you Sabertooth. You're a hunter by nature. So why don't we make this a challenge, for both of us.' Sabertooth suddenly looked thoughtful, Wolverine groaned as he recovered, and Gambit just smiled.

Storm and Rogue walked through the entrance of the mansion, laughing and chatting away. They stopped immediately as they saw Cyclops walking down the stairs towards them, looking almost deadly serious. They looked at each other, and they had to step quickly out of the way to avoid having Cyclops bump into them.

'Uh…Mister Summers,' Rogue piped up. 'Something wrong?'

'I'm afraid so Rogue. The professor has lost contact with Wolverine and Gambit. He's tried tracking them with cerebro, but he lost track of them just on the edge of the city. We're forming a small strike team to find them.'

Rogue and Storm looked at each other, then back at Cyclops. 'We wanna come too.'

'Sorry girls, but you're still in training.'

'But Mister Summers, Ah can help take down guards silently,' Rogue started.

'And I and keep the group in cover with fog,' finished Storm. 'It'll be better than just storming the place and risk getting the pair of them killed.'

Cyclops looked at the pair, and a small smile appeared on his lips. 'Alright girls, you can come, but after you've done your jobs, you keep your distance. We can't risk you two getting hurt or killed. Now go downstairs, get some spare uniforms for yourselves.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As the team walked towards the hanger, Rogue and Storm were in awe. The team consisted of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Psylocke. Each one of these team members was a legend around the school. Rumour had it that Jean Grey was once the host of a cosmic force, but that was too far-fetched, even for tales of the X-Mens exploits. The two young girls exchanged glances. Dressed in their training uniforms, they felt out of place, and nervous. As the rest of the X-Men walked up into the Blackbird, Jean turned to the pair. 'Don't worry girls, we'll make sure the two of you stay safe. Storm, you'll provide us with cover from the Blackbird.' Storm nodded and headed up after the rest of the team. 'Rogue,' Jean continued. 'You'll take out any perimeter guards, then Kurt will teleport you back to the Blackbird. Don't worry, we'll keep in radio contact the whole time, so that we know you two are still safe, but also so that you two will know that we're safe.' Rogue smiled at Jean. The older woman always seemed to know what to say to calm the team down, even if they weren't going on a mission. 'Now get on board. Let's go and get Remy and Logan back.'

'I know you're there Cajun,' Sabertooth taunted. He prowled around the warehouse. Gambit had tempted Creed with the opportunity to kill him with his own hands. The only condition was that he was that it was done in a hunt style. Gambit was allowed in to the warehouse and Creed followed one minute later. His guards shut and locked the doors. There was no way for Gambit to leave.  
'Well if ya know where I am, mon ami, come and get me,' Gambit called back. It had been easy to trick Creed into this 'hunt'. Gambit had looped his way back to the entrance, but had left his coat further into the warehouse. Creed was now following the scent of that, while Gambit had been busy. Whilst he had been dragged to the building, he had distracted the guard long enough to grab the key to the collar which restricted his power. He kept it hidden on his person, but he was determined to beat Creed on his own, without his powers help. He had instead been setting traps to place around all the boxes. With these made, he grabbed a broom, and silently broke off the handle. Having lost his own bo-staff (Sabertooth had it tucked in his coat, and Gambit was determined to get it back), he figured that the broom handle would have to do. Silently moving between the boxes, he placed the small traps every few meters. When that was done, he slipped quietly between the boxes and sat, waiting for Creed.

The Blackbird flew quickly over New York, following Cerebro's direction to where Wolverine and Gambit were being held. Rogue had been silent the whole trip, staring out of the window at the lights below. Nightcrawler stood next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump slightly.  
'My apologies, Rogue. You seem distracted. Ist alle in Ordung?''Ah'm fine Mr Wagner,' Rogue replied. 'It's just that, Ah'm worried about Remy… Ah mean Mr LeBeau.'  
'We are all concerned for our teammates, Luv,' Psylocke chimed in. 'but we must remain focused if we are to rescue them.'  
'Betsy's right, Rogue,' Beast said from the co-pilots seat, turning to look at Rogue. 'But concern is always a good sign, especially when you do what we do. If you aren't concerned for your teammates, it is reasonable to believe that you are only concerned for yourself. And that can compromise the teams safety.'  
'Cut the chatter people,' Cyclops said from the control panel. 'We're here. Land silently Jean, we don't want to let them know that we're here.' Jean turned to Storm. 'Okay, time for you to do your stuff.' Storm nodded and looked out the window, her eyes glowing white as she started to create a thick fog to cover their landing.  
'You ready Rogue?' Psylocke now stood over the young girl, although she looked less harsh than she usually did. Rogue just nodded, and stood up.  
'Stay close to me liebchen,' Kurt said. 'As soon as we take out any guards, we're getting you right back here.' Again Rogue just nodded, too nervous to say anything.  
'OK, everybody ready?' Cyclops' voice was steady, despite the fact they were all going to face one of the deadliest mutants known to them. 'Move out.'

_None of my traps have been activated yet _thought Gambit. _Either Creeds bein' real careful, or….._ 'You really thought this would trick me?' He saw the coat land in front of him before he heard the voice. Looking up he saw Creed standing over him, claws poised to kill…


	11. Chapter 11

The guard smelt the attack before he felt it. A whiff of sulphur and a hand grabbing his face were all he noticed. As he slumped, Nightcrawler teleported the short distance to the second guard, and laid him out cold.

'Cyclops. We have taken out the guards. Move in.'

Rogue watched as the X-Men team moved to main entrance, before feeling the three fingered hand of Nightcrawler wrap gently around her arm.

'Come, Liebchen,' he said gently. 'You're job has been done.'

Porting back to the Blackbird, Nightcrawler smiled and waved before disappearing again in a puff of smoke. Rogue watched him go, and headed up the ramp of the Blackbird.

Claws sliced through the air where seconds before Gambits head had been. Diving backwards, Gambit landed hard before flipping himself onto his feet. Sabertooth was already on him, forcing him to dodge again. He needed time to breathe, time to get to the key he lifted to get the collar off. As he landed again, Sabertooth pounced. Bringing the broom handle straight out in front of him, Gambit slammed it into the feral beasts stomach, and using Sabertooth's forward momentum to fall backwards and throw him over his head into a nearby stack of crates. Buying him the precious seconds he needed, Gambit took the key from his pocket and placed it in the lock of the collar. Feeling it spring free, Gambit grabbed a handful of nearby rubble, and watched as it started to glow.

'Now,' Gambit smiled. 'De fun begins.'

The door blasted down, and Colossus and Beast took point. Colossus armoured form smashed into some nearby crates, and was shocked when no armed response came. As the rest of the X-Men fell into place next to him, they took stock of their surroundings. The room was empty and there was no sign of anyone ever having been there.

'Something is wrong,' Colossus said. 'It feels like….'

A scream came in over everyone's headsets.

'Rogue! Storm! Everybody, back to the Blackbird!' Cyclops was already running.

'….a trap.'

The explosion rocked the facility, and Wolverine smiled. No matter how much the Cajun got on his nerves, he was still handy in a fight, and he was sure that he was giving Sabertooth a good fight.

'Phew. Dat was a bit bigger than I'd intended.'

Gambit surveyed the mess he had created, masses of wood and steel collapsed on one spot, and Sabertooth's hand sticking out from underneath.

'Dat should hold 'im for a while. I'd better go and free Wolverine.' Turning to go, he heard a loud smash coming from behind. Turning quickly, he saw Sabertooth lunge at him, one hand reaching out for his throat.

_Dat maniac, _Gambit thought. _He tore off his own hand just t' kill me._

Gambit was able to dodge, but not quickly enough. Sabertooth's claws cut through his armour, and he felt the sting as they drew blood. Landing heavily, and out of breath and unable to move, Gambit watched as Sabertooth loomed over him. Gambit watched, but was not afraid. He always had an ace up his sleeve.

'Drop 'em!' Cyclops yelled.

The front of the Blackbird had been completely crushed, and the X-Men were now watching as the Juggernaut walked away from the wreckage, holding both Storm and Rogue in one giant hand.

Unleashing an optic blast, he watched as it bounced off the Juggernaut as if it were rain. Turning, Cain just snarled and, using his one free hand, picked up a large chunk of the ground and threw it towards the group of assembled X-Men. Colossus was already there, using his massive armoured fist to smash the ground to pieces. It hadn't even slowed him down and he kept running, throwing his entire weight into tackling the Juggernaut. Knowing that he was the only one who even came close to Juggernaut's strength, the rest of the X-Men could do nothing but watch.


End file.
